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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 29, 1961)
oiin iirch Society ievot eif I note: The John Birch. tlon with noble aim: Fishiinj Communism. Hut Its methods have tirred controversy in many v.o. cities. A Ul'I special reportlnn .-m unc nttlrned to assist liar- tiara llundschu. New York staff correspondent, In researching and 'Investigating the organization, Its purposes, operations ana uiiusi tlon across the nation. Following Is the first of three dispatches on their findings. By BARBARA BUNDSCHU UPI Correspondent Residents of Santa Barbara; Calif., were in for a surprise when they stepped out into the bright and blowy' morning of Feb. 26 to pick up their Sunday newspapers. In that quiet and beautiful city of about 60,000. a respected fel low citizen had discovered what he felt was an outrage. "The editor and publisher of the News-Press is in his 85th vear," began a two-col umn editorial on the front page. "His entire life has been spent in this community . . . he lived when conditions were rugged. When West was West and men were men. He uvea i"-Hr. -.p-inris when if a mar. or a group of men openly bj niuutn, or the printed work, called our President . . . and others at the head of our government, traitors, they were made to answer. Such slanders often called for a visit from a courageous and irate group which brought with them a barrel of tar and a few feathers ; . ." Thoma3 More Storke, ranch er and citrus grower, owner of a newspaper since 1900, briefly by interim appoint ment a United States senator, regent of the University of California, was taking a stand against the John Birch Society and its founder and leader, Robert Welch of Belmont, Mass, Method Bothers . . Welch, 61, retired from a candy firm four years ago to devote his life to fighting Communism. What bothered editor Storke was the way Welch was fighting It. In a letter written before he set up the society late in 1958 and still in limited circulation, Welch told friends that Presi dent Eisenhower; his brother, Dr. Milton Eisenhower; the late Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his brother, Allen Dulles, then and now head of the Central Intelli gence Agency, were members of the Communist under Eround. But the statement about Eisenhower-wasn't all Storke had on his mind. In Santa Barbara itself, blessed as few communities in the nation with the comforts of both na ture and material wealth, lives a member of the society's 26 man council'. Dr. Granville Knight, a physician. Several active chapters of the semi secret society were studying Communism at private meet ings and looking around town for Communists to expose. "The secret Communist looks and acts just like any body else, only more so," Welch had Instructed them In the society's "Blue Book." He could be anybody you know. In fact, Welch said, one of his prime suspects is "one of the nicest men you ever met. Most of them arc." Effective Means Exposure of such persons, even through "mean and dirty" techniques, Welch said, is one of the most effoctlve means of shocking the Ameri can people awake In time to save themselves from Com munism. He also advises mem bers to set up front groups, to infiltrate community or ganizations and to engage in directed letter writing to pro mote specific campaigns of his ullra-conscrvative society. It was to protest what these tactics were doing to Santa Barbara that editor Storke raised his editorial voice. "The News-Press condemns the tactics that have brought anonymous telephone calls of denunciation to Santa Bar barans In recent weeks from members of the John Birch Society or their sympathiz ers," Slorkc's editorial said. "The News-Press condemns the pressures on wealthy rest dents who fear and abhor Communism, to con tribute money to an organization whose leader has said that for reasons you will under gtnnd, there can be no account' ing of funds' ... THE SECRET OF Without habit-forming drugs A new technique combine! hundreds of tin beedi of medication In a capsule. Hilf of these dissolve to Induce sleep quickly. The other half Is gradually released to sustain end deepen your natural sleep. Taki Nita Rest tonight for tele, uninter rupted sleep. Wake up refrtshtd tomorrow. You tleep soundly or money back NO PRESCRIPTION REQUIRED WAINSCOT'S PHARMACY 322 E. Main SP 2-6440 We Give S&H Green Stamps WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 1961 "The John Birch Society already has done a grave dis- service to Santa Barbara by arousing suspicions and a mu tual distrust among men of goodwill. The organization's adherents, since in their op position to Communism, do not seem to understand the dangers of the totalitarian dynastry with which they are tampering. "The News-Press challenges them: Come up from under ground "And if they believe that In being challenged they , have grounds for suit - let them sue. The News-Press would welcome a suit as a means of shedding more light on the John Birch Society." What is the real nature of this relatively new group on the American political scene? Political scientists would clas sify it as ultra-conservative. It is and will remain a sub' ject of controversy, however, over whether its tactics are compatible with American democratic principles as they are most popularly under stood. It Is, in Itself, an authori tarian society. Editor Storke s adjective was "totalitarian." Welch does not say the United States should have a similarly authoritarian form of govern ment. But he is far from com pletely sold on the form we now have. And as for the po litical concept of a democracy, he regards It frankly as a "weapon of demagoguery, and a perennial fraud." Standards Not Accepted By Welch's political stand ards Dwlght Eisenhower is a Communist,, and so are many others in high government places, past and present. These are standards not everyone accepts. The U.S. Senate on March 8 heard Sen. Milton R. Young, North Dakota Repub lican, declare that ; Welch s accusations against Eisenhow er and others had gone "be yond anything the late Joe McCarthy ever thought of . ." On the other hand a Senate internal affairs subcommittee has described Welch's John Birch Society as a "patriotic organization." And because there is evi dence to support the society's claim that it is growing, the controversy around it is also bound to grow In the months ahead. A little over three weeks after Storke's editorial, Chan cellor Samuel B, Gould of the University of California at Santa Barbara, speaking at a university banquet, said a "new type" of secret student organization had been set up Jy . . NEWS OF I ! SI RANGES and WATER HEATERS Big Y Appliance Center SP 3-3052 Brookt Electric SP 2-5209 Crosier Appliance I....SP 2-601 1 Ead Transfer & Furniture SP 2-7121 Electronic Service Company SP 3-1971 Hal "K" Appliances SP 2-2456 Home Appliance Company SP 3-5395 Johnston Stores ...SP 3-3619 Larson Appliance Company SP 2-5302 L m , .... ?, ' y.Zvm ft mm V SOCIETY'S FOUNDER Robert W. Welch, above, is founder and leader of the John Birch Society which is a semi-secret organization with a noble aim: Fighting Communism. But its methods have stirred controversy In many sections of the United States. on the campus and "unless it is checked, can destroy the university." Another official said "It was understood" Gould referred to the Birch Society. ' , ... ' Gould said the organization to which he referred encour ages students to become in formers and "take on the tasks of security agencies." He said the university and its officials "have been labeled and vilified in whispering campaigns, all purporting to prove that we are not only less than loyal to America but are downright subversive." Embroiled in Controversy Santa Barbara was not the first or the last - although it would seem among the most unlikely - community to have been torn by the society's activities nor to have seen it assailed by its newspapers, The organization has become embroiled in controversy In many states, including Wis consin, Texas, Ohio, Kansas, California and North Dakota. Articles and editorial com- W CALORE LUCmCAL 1 (UPI Telephoto) ment on the organization have been carried by a number of newspapers and magazines in cluding the Chicago Daily News, the Milwaukee Journal, the 'Loujsville Courier Jour nal, the Boston Herald, the Los Angeles Times, the Ra cine, Wis., Journal - Times, Time magazine and The Na tion. The amount of secrecy sur rounding its operations has varied considerably from com munity to community, and Welch has given up his fight to avoid publicity about the group. At issue between the society and many who might other wise share Welch's conserva tive political and economic views is his persistent reason ing that everything he per sonally considers wrong is a Communist plot. At Issue between the society and those who condemn it is the tendency of its activities to suppress, If not the right, at least the respectability, of dissent. ' 20. BONUS ON NEW RANGES Ask your favorite CalOre Electrical League dealer how you can get a special $20. BONUS by trading that old stove now for an automatic, Homeless electric range. QUICK -OFFER ENDS SEE ANY OF THE DEALERS LISTED BELOW RANGES and WATER HEATERS Leonard Electric Company SP 3-4541 Montgomery Ward Company SP 3-7301 Sears Roebuck & Company SP 3-6661 The Monarch Range Store SP 2-2022 Trowbridge & Flynn SP 3-6241 Western Auto Supply SP 2-6217 Williams Appliance Stores SP'2-9677 Grays' Furniture Barn-Central Point ..NO 4-1226 MEDFORD o Exposing Communism This question has split the Supreme Court itself in de cisions which have qualified the First Amendment rights of witnesses before the House Committee on Un - American Activities. Inhibition of free speech caused by such private organi zations as the Birch Society, have had no judicial rule. Edi tor Storke's statement of prin ciples said: "We believe . . . that traitors should be dealt with by the courts, not by vigilante groups." John Birch had nothing to do with the group which bears his name. He was a young fundamentalist Baptist mis sionary from Georgia who served as an intelligence offi cer in China during World War II and was killed 10 days after V-J Day by Chinese Communists. He was 27 when he died. ' Robert Welch never heard of Birch until after his death, but he' has researched and written his life story. Welch has memorallzed Birch as "probably the first American casualty in that third world war, between Communists and the' ever - shrinking 'free world,' which Is still being waged against us." And when he came to found a Communist-fighting organization, he called it the John Birch So ciety. In Birch's name, members of the society are asked to write letters to congressmen and others, operate in "front" organizations and through established community groups such as PTAs and Chambers of Commerce to push cam paigns conceived by Welch as anti - Communist. These in clude movements to impeach Chief Justice Earl Warren, to repeal the. Income tax law, to rout the social gospel from the. churches, to oppose the North Atlantic Treaty Organi zation Alliance, foreign aid, the United Nations and cul tural, or any other, exchanges with Russia. At her farm home near Macon, Ga., Birch's mother, Mrs. George S. Birch, said she and her husband are "heartily in accord" with Welch's or ganization "and we are proud for it to bear our son's name." Welch also is a native south erner, born in North Carolina Dec. 1, 1899. He was reared in what he now calls "the intel lectually restricting bonds of the unusually narrow South ern Baptist fundamentalism." He spent four years, at the University of North Carolina, two at the Naval Academy and INTEREST TO LflJE EARLY BIRDS . . you have just a few days left to take advantage of the CalOre Electrical League's BIO BONUS OFFERS on modern electric range and quick:recovery electric water heater trades! IlkWl. Mflij w io tin hm declthM MAIL TRIBUriE, MEDFORD. two at Harvard Law School before going into the candy business. He was for years vice president of the James O. Welch Company, headed by his brother, which has factor ies in Massachusetts and in Los Angeles. Welch was interviewed by United Press International and documents of the society were made available to UPI by him. In his own words - a bio graphical sketch Welch wrote in the third person for society members - he "has one wife, two sons, a Golden Retriever dog, and 14 golf clubs - none of which he understands, but all of which he loves." He is an affable man who smiles easily and exhibits in his writings a sense of humor, love of poetry and wide knowledge of history and lit erature. He was a director of the National Association of Manu facturers for seven years, serv ing also as a vice president of the organization, and three former presidents of the NAM are or have been on the Birch Society's council. On Jan. 1, 1957, his biogra phy says, he"gave up most of his business responsibilities -and most of his income - in order to devote practically all of his time and energy to the anti-Communist cause." The John Birch Society was founded almost two years later, on Dec. 9. 1958, at In dianapolis, after Welch de livered a two-day speech to 11 men he had invited to hear it. That speech is today the "Blue Book" of the society, the of ficial statement of its aims and methods. It is supplement ed by monthly bulletins to members and the magazine "American Opinion," which Welch founded before the so ciety and of which he is editor The message and aim is: "Less government, more re sponsibility and a better world." Sinister Conspiracy Welch quite literally wants to repeal the 20th Century. But unlike many who share this desire, either politically or nostalgically, he views its trend toward "collectivism" not simply as a mistake but as. a sinister conspiracy to change the economic and po litical .structure of the United States so that this nation can be merged with the Soviet Union without a fight. . "You have only a few more years," he told his listeners at Indianapolis. "We are living . . . in such a fool's paradise as BONUS ON NEW WATER HEATERS Trade any old water heating device to your favorite CalOre Electrical League dealer... get a special $15. BONUS when you buy a modern, quick-recovery electric water heater. WATER HEATERS ONLY A-l Day & Nite Plumbing SP 2-6978 Bowers Plumbing & Heating SP 3-4953 Flynn's Electric Supply SP 3-1841 Jacksonville Lumber Company TW 9-1271 Leffler Plumbing & Heating SP 2-6659 Modern Plumbing & Sheet Metal ....SP 3-5368 Patterson Plumbing Company SP 3-2768 Rush Electric Company SP 2-4960 ORE. the people of China lived in 20 years ago." "The danger is almost en tirely internal," Welch said, "from Communist influences right in our midst and treason right in our government." The idea that the nation must mobilize its resources to combat the external danger of Soviet military might and sputnik supremacy is, in Welch's view, a part of the Communist plot.- "In other words, under , the guise of fighting Communism, we are being stamped into the biggest jump ever towards, and per haps the final jump right into, socialism and then the Com munist camp." Welch would repeal virtual ly all of the social and eco nomic legislation of the last 30 years. "The greatest enemy of man is, and always has been, gov ernment," he said. Slipped Over Gradually "We are Hot beginning any revolution, nor even a counter-revolution in any technical sense . ..." he said. "Yet our determination to overthrow an entrenched tyranny is the very stuff of which revolu tions are made." He warned that Communism is being slipped over on the American people so gradually and insidiously that before long "they can no longer resist the Communist conspiracy as free citizens, but can resist the communist tyranny only by themselves becoming con spirators against established government." , The Los Angeles Times, in an editorial signed by publish er Otis Chandler on March 12, saw an implication of sedition in Welch's statements. And, like many others, it deplored the identification of conserva. tism with extremism. "The Times believes im plicitly in the conservative philosophy," the editorial said. "It has challenged all these men and most of these insti tutions (which Welch attacks) on the soundness of one or more issues. But the Times does not believe that the argu ment for conservatism can be won - and we do believe it can be won - by smearing as enemies and traitors those with whom we sometimes dis agree. ' "Subversion, whether of the left or the right, is still sub version." " . Not Disturbed by Criticism Criticism from the press is not likely to disturb Welch. He has already told his fol lowers that "the domination APRIL FOR DETAILS of our press, television and ra. dio by Communist influences is now so great that you sim ply are not allowed to learn or be reminded of the real nature of the beasts to whom we are losing." An editorial in "American Opinion" for Feb ruary said the long-insolvent Communist newspaper, The Daily Worker, quit publication because the 'line taken toy the New York Times long ago made it unnecessary, su-, perfluous, and probably em barrassing to the Times." "When you hear Welch's charges out of context . . . their absurdity is plain enough," said the Rev. John A. Crane to his congregation at Santa Barbara's Unitarian church one February Sun day. Absurdity Concealed "But when you come upon them in the publications of the society, surrounded and sup ported by Welch's rich, flow ing language and ideas, their absurdity is well concealed. "The man is a marvelously gifted demagogue .... "There is another factor apart from the magic of Rob ert Welch that lends power to the movement . . . both Welch . and his people are genuinely afraid . . . driven by an almost wild fear of a persistent and pervasive sort. USE IT TO MODERNIZE YOUR HOME and KEEP your Savings Cushion S . National Bank: f jr"?" IIMM IMIU MMMf MIANCI CMfOMIWH THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK 15! - WATER HEATERS ONLY S n N Supply SP 2-4156 Steven's Plumbing & Heating SP 3-3503 Valley Plumbing SP 3-3102 Woody the Plumber SP 2-7679 && U.S in Because of the peculiar nature of their understanding of what It means to be an American, everywhere they look, in our society, they see signs of an incredibly devious subver sion . . ." Thursday: The society's doe trine and membership. 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